Synthesis and thermal behavior of geopolymer-type material from waste ceramic

•Waste ceramic was collected, grinded and screened to synthesize geopolymer.•The synthesized geopolymer showed a maximum 28d compressive strength of 71.1MPa.•The geopolymer showed a higher compressive strength after heat treatment of 1000°C. Waste ceramic was activated by alkali hydroxides and/or sodium/potassium silicate solutions to synthesize geopolymer-type material in this study. The synthesized geopolymer pastes were characterized by mechanical test, TG-DSC, SEM, XRD, as well as FT-IR analyses. And the thermal behavior of synthesized geopolymer was determined in terms of compressive strength evolution by exposure to 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000°C. The synthesized geopolymer pastes exhibited a maximum 28-day compressive strength of 71.1MPa and favorable anti-thermal properties by showing a higher compressive strength of 75.6MPa after heat treatment of 1000°C. The results indicate that waste ceramic could serve as a satisfying source material for thermostable geopolymer.